Police Send Only Site Manager to Prosecution in 'Yeonsinnae Station Worker Electrocution Accident'

Seoul Metro President and Others Not Prosecuted

The person in charge at the site was handed over to the prosecution in connection with the electric shock accident that occurred at Yeonsinnae Station on Seoul Subway Line 3. It has been eight months since a construction worker died in the accident last June.

On the 26th, the Eunpyeong Police Station in Seoul announced that on the 7th, they sent Mr. A, the head of the Jichuk Electric Management Office and the person in charge at the site at the time, to the prosecution without detention on charges of professional negligence resulting in death.

The bereaved family and the labor union filed complaints and accusations with the police against five people, including Baekho, the president of Seoul Transportation Corporation, and the then head of the technical headquarters, on charges of violating duty of care in the course of work. However, the police decided not to prosecute (dismiss) these individuals. This decision was based on the judgment that only Mr. A was found guilty of professional negligence resulting in death according to the investigation results.

The Seoul Metro Labor Union held a press conference in front of Seoul City Hall on June 17 last year, urging Seoul City and the corporation to apologize and conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident in which an employee was electrocuted and died while working in the electrical room at Yeonsinnae Station on Line 3 on June 9 of the same month. Photo by Yonhap News

However, the police explained that whether President Baekho and other executives violated the Industrial Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accident Punishment Act is a matter to be investigated and judged by the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office. A police official stated, "Cases related to the Serious Accident Punishment Act fall under the investigative authority of the Labor Office."

The accident occurred at 1:36 a.m. on June 9 last year in the electrical room on the first basement floor of Yeonsinnae Station on Subway Line 3 in Eunpyeong-gu. Construction worker Mr. B (53) was electrocuted and died while performing maintenance work on the color-coded cables of the distribution panel.